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Air Force football coaches seem excited about possible renovations to Falcon Stadium

Glimpses of proposed renovations to Falcon Stadium have made their way into social media in recent days thanks to Air Force football coaches who appear eager to see these changes put into place.

Revamped seating and club areas on the stadium's east side, a paved and landscaped parking lot, new locker rooms, updated facilities for coaches and media are all included in the potential project that would come with a $50 million price tag, according to athletic director Hans Mueh.

The stadium was built without public money and that would be the same idea with the renovations, which were to be discussed at length this weekend with the school's endowment fund.

Defensive coordinator Charlton Warren took to Twitter on Saturday morning, sharing several photos of the conceptual drawings and enthusiastically adding: "Imagine playing your college career in the newly renovated Falcon Stadium! What a place to win football games!!"

Though Mueh said Friday that he would love to see the bleachers on the east side removed after this season to make room for construction, it doesn't appear that the project is anywhere near a start date. Money needs to be raised and even the plans themselves need to be completed.

"We have drawings now that are conceptually sound, but not necessarily architecturally sound," Mueh said.

Plans for the renovation were first publicly mentioned in August 2012, with Mueh outlining his hopes for what was then to be a $20 million project to give the stadium its first major upgrades since it was built in 1962. Included in those plans were private skyboxes to the north and south of press box that were to include indoor and outdoor seating, removing the chain link fence around the stadium and replacing it with brick pillars, expanding the press box by moving the back wall farther out to the west, adding restrooms and concessions where the east bleachers are currently located and installing elevators to help the stadium meet standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

These plans called for downsizing the stadium's capacity from 47,000 to 42,000.

It was not clear Saturday what had changed from those original plans, though the price was estimated at $65 million by defensive line coach Matt Weikert on Twitter. Mueh said Saturday that the number was actually about $50 million.